


I Stayed

by TheLadyOfManyFandoms



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humour, Romance, You're a badass, as always, jealous steve is adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 16:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5424425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyOfManyFandoms/pseuds/TheLadyOfManyFandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve's affection for you has grown in ways he can't explain, so when your ex-boyfriend shows up at the Avenger Tower party - things get complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Stayed

**Author's Note:**

> So here’s a little drabble that I came up with. I hope you all enjoy! ^.^
> 
> _I don’t own the characters. I just guided the story._

  
[](http://38.media.tumblr.com/44b00fe41c37ec23857695e42d08216e/tumblr_ntegnssS081s5unvzo1_250.gif)

People. Music. Wine. 

The party was amazing. You had really outdone yourself for the team and it was a fitting end to their time together. With the sceptre ready to be shipped back to Asgard, the Avengers made to enjoy their final moments until the next assembling. 

You walked through the buzzing crowds and spotted Rhodey telling some stories, Steve playing pool with Sam, while Clint grabbed a glass of cold beer from the refrigerator. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and you couldn’t be happier.

“(Y/n)!” A deep voice chuckled off to your left and you turned to see Thor walking over with two drinks in his hands. “Come, let us speak.”

Taking one of the glasses on offer by your friend, you walked with Thor through the building. You genuinely loved the conversations with the Asgardian as Thor often imparted wisdom in his words. He also happened to have the best stories about magic and battles in space. Taking a sip of your drink, you looked over at Thor and listened to him talk about the Dark Elves in London.

“It was quite a terrifying ordeal.” He confessed and you chuckled.

“I didn’t think that the Son of Odin scared easily.” You smirked. Thor cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Not for me. I meant the mortals – the mortals were terrified. I was fine.” He said quickly and smiled when you burst into laughter. He enjoyed making you laugh and often wished his father would give him permission to bring you to Asgard to train the warriors. 

“Well, I’m sure you kept your cool.” You told him and received a confident nod from your friend.

“My cool? (Y/n), battles are tiresome, heated and…”

“Hide me!” You yelped suddenly as you quickly darted behind Thor and used his muscular build as a personal shield. Thor stopped walking and turned around with a puzzled expression. You held his arms firmly to keep him in place and squinted at him seriously.

“Are you alright?” The Prince asked, worried at the unexpected outburst. Watching the fear in your eyes, Thor placed a caring hand on your face and stared at you seriously – he was in ‘Thor-mode’.

“Who frightens you, my friend?” 

“Frighten? No, that’s not it.” You corrected and removed his hand gently, unaware that Steve had made his way over when he noticed the odd behaviour. 

“Hey, is everything okay? You look spooked.” He inquired kindly. 

You looked at Steve to explain your situation but the man stole your breath the moment you laid eyes on him. His eyes twinkled under the party lights and his shirt was an incredibly perfect fit (you really shouldn’t have picked it out for him). Clearing your throat (and mind) quickly, you shook your head. 

“My ex-boyfriend is standing by the pool table.” 

“I shall set him in place then.” Thor them confidently and moved to the left but you gripped his arms tightly to bring him back into position.

“No, no. I can deal with him.” You said, calming the riled-up Asgardian. While you would have loved Thor to rough up your ex, there wasn’t a need to cause a scene. Watching your expressions, Steve turned to the crowd playing pool and tried to spot the man – he knew all of your exes by memory.

“Which one?” He asked and you glared at the soldier.

“I don’t have that many ex-boyfriend’s, Steve.” You grumbled. Steve smirked at your voice and looked back at you with a light-hearted chuckle.

“I meant, which one of the pool tables is he at?” 

“It doesn’t matter. Tonight is going to suck.” You told the two Avengers. Steve folded his arms and sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. 

“We could take a walk and avoid him, if you’d like?” He suggested to which you managed a small smile of gratefulness. 

“I’d like that. We should…”

“And what is happening here?” A joyful and curious voice interrupted. To your right stood none other than Tony Stark with a fancy drink in his hand.

“James Pearson.” You said, knowing that it would explain the dilemma, and watched as Tony gasped.

“I was wondering where he got off to.”

Any hope of help from the man was thrown out the window and you glared daggers at him. 

“You knew he was here?” You whispered angrily. You thought you would have been given at least some warning that your ex was present but, clearly, you were wrong. 

“Problem?”

“He’s a jerk. Do I need to list everything he did in the timespan of a few months?” You snapped and Tony sipped his drink with a nod.

“He dated you, impressed me, flaunted his money, tried to buy my company, oh - broke your heart a few times, and then you ended it.” He listed correctly. You folded your arms and laughed humourlessly. 

“After all that, are you still going to ask me what my problem is?”

Tony shrugged at your question and looked behind Thor and Steve. His hand lifted into the air and waved it about to draw attention.

“James!” He called out. 

Your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach and your fists curled at the thought of making conversation with the man. Steve placed a gentle hand on your shoulder when he noticed your discomfort.

_Maybe James changed his attitude. I just have to talk for a few minutes and then he’ll leave._ You thought.

“Stark! I was beginning to think you forgot about the VIP guests.” James laughed as he greeted Tony. 

_Nope. Not changed one bit._

James noticed you standing beside Thor and smiled when Steve moved his hand away. The ex-boyfriend hadn’t seen you in years and found you to be just as striking as he remembered.

“(Y/n).” He nodded. 

“James.”

There was an awkward tension that quickly set in. While James and yourself were responsible for most of it, Steve contributed through his hidden heartache. He didn’t like the idea of you enduring a conversation with a man that you despised but, who you spoke to, was none of his concern. The tension was quickly broken by Tony’s enthusiastic clap and bizarrely cheerful smile. 

“Why don’t show him around?”

“What?” You blurted out but Tony laughed over it while pushing you away with James. “Wait, but Steve and I were going to…”

“You can do that later. Steve’s not going anywhere.” Tony told you. “This is your party so be a good host. Have a drink, talk. Get to know each other – again.” 

Steve watched on as James took your arm in his and was more than happy to steal you away despite your obvious disagreement. Sighing, Steve turned to Tony and Thor with a kind smile.

“I think I’m going to talk with Sam.” He said and disappeared into the crowd. Tony smirked at Steve and Thor sipped his drink. 

“(Y/n) will not hesitate to kill us if she learns of the truth.” Thor reminded. Tony smiled in return and patted the Asgardian’s arm playfully.

“Then let’s make sure that Cap-sicle melts his icy exterior and reveals his feelings.” He suggested. Thor nodded and then chuckled to himself.

“It does seem like Steve is rattled.” 

“Then it’ll be smooth-sailing from here, buddy.”

* * *

_You spent half an hour with the guy and all you learnt was that he was arrogant and self-centred – just like before._

“I’m not seeing anyone so I thought that I could give you another chance.” James smiled.

His ego was so concentrated that and you had to refrain from throwing him off the balcony for the sake of not being thrown out of your own event. This was precisely the reason _you_ broke up with James. You fell into his trap of charm and charisma and then was shown the smug bastard within – it wasn’t happening again. Rolling your eyes, you squinted at James. 

“A sympathy date?” You scoffed and took a sip of your margarita, “No, thank you.” 

Taking a step back, you turned around to leave but was grabbed by the arm and forced back to face James, this time, uncomfortably close. His grip on your arm was tighter than it should have been and, the smirk on his face was replaced by bitter rejection. He was downright ticked off, not that you could care. 

“Come on, admit it. You haven’t stopped thinking about me.” He said, voice beaming with confidence and completely ignorant of the pain he was inflicting. 

“Let me go, James.” You ordered calmly. You kept your voice low so attention wouldn’t be drawn but it didn’t seem like James cared. 

“(L/n), I was the best thing that happened to you and you threw it away.” 

_Seriously?_ That’s what he was going with. 

You couldn’t believe his nerve and wanted to shock him with one of your electric pods. Fortunately for him, it was a party and you wouldn’t ruin the event because of the jerk. 

There was a glimmer of deep blue that caught your attention from the same floor and you leaned over to see Steve leaning on the railing with Sam. Unfortunately, James noticed the softness in your expression when you spotted the Captain and scoffed.

“Him? Seriously?” He chuckled. “You really think that because you fight together, you have a chance with him? (Y/n), you’re only attractive to guys like me. You have to be a hero to attract heroes. Everyone at this party knows it. Like I said, I’m your best bet at a decent future.” 

James watched as your eyes welled up with tears and expected them to fall. You, however, were tougher than he thought. You looked away from Steve and glared at James with fire in your (e/c) eyes. Your hands trembled with the burning temptation to throw your drink over him and your mind replayed the satisfaction you would feel if you did.

“Let me go.” You warned. 

This time, James released you with a smile, lingering under the delusion that he had won – so he was taken by surprise when you set your glass on the railing and walked off. 

“If it’s hard-to-get you want to play? One night with me and you -” 

James never finished his sentence because he saw a quick blur and felt something strike his face. There was a sickening crunch and pain in his nose before James stumbled backwards and hit the ground. The surrounding crowd gasped at the sudden violent behaviour and the disruption caught the attention of Steve and Sam who had moved close-by.

“Are you okay?” Steve wondered as he ran over, Sam following close behind. There was a crowd of startled guests, a body on the tiles and an Avenger ruffling her hair angrily. You shook your fist as your knuckles stung from the impact and stared at James.

“Fine. He’s knocked out though.” 

“Knocked out?”

“Yes, Steve. The thing that happens when you’ve been hit in the face.” You sighed irritably. A few security guards entered and took the unconscious ex-boyfriend out of the party room and off to the hospital. Steve looked back at you and noticed your discomfort.

“Come, let’s get some ice on that.” He said and guided you down to the bar. 

Helping you up on a stool, Steve grabbed a first aid kit from beneath the counter and pulled out the equipment he needed to help seal your wound. Taking your hand in his, Steve looked at you and noticed that you were deep in thought.

“He deserved it.” Steve confirmed. He didn’t like the feeling of knowing that you were blaming yourself. Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about it.

“He’s a possessive, manipulative, bastard – of course, he deserved it.” You agreed and winced as Steve poured an antiseptic liquid over your knuckles.

“Is that why you don’t date?” Steve wondered curiously. Clearly the question had been lingering on his mind. 

“What?” You asked. You never told him that, so how did Steve know?

“It’s alright. Clint let it slip after his last drink.” He confessed. You grabbed a shot glass with your free hand and set it down in front so you could pour a blueberry flavoured shot into it. 

“Well, I have a track record of dating guys who are terrible for me. The good one’s slip through my fingers. You do the math.” 

You sighed and downed the liquid, feeling it burn down your throat. Steve started to wrap your hand with a thin bandage and shook his head.

“I stayed.” He said under his breath. He thought he was being discrete with the loud music playing overhead but you caught on to his voice and frowned.

“What did you say?” You asked, not sure if you had heard actual words or a mumble.

“I stayed.” Steve repeated and focused his sapphire blue eyes onto yours. “Not all the good ones slipped through.”


End file.
